Teaching to the test
Encyclopedia
Teaching to the test is an education
al practice where the curriculum is centered primarily around an end assessment or standardized test
. The practice is designed to give students a set range of knowledge or skills that will allow them to enhance their performance on tests. It is sometimes called drill and kill, from the primary activities: excessive drilling of simple, isolated skills, and killing off understanding.
Teaching to the test is ineffective: it often does not achieve its primary goal of raising student scores. Teachers who engage in it are typically below-average teachers.
It is also frequently used for skill-based learning, like typing or athletics; in this context, teaching to the test is the dominant practice. In situations not involving standardized testing, teaching to the test is used to combine instruction and assessment.
The practice also reduces the validity of standardized tests, and can create an incorrect profile of a student or school's achievement. Teaching to the test may result in teacher disillusionment and unhappiness.
The study concluded that the ethical boundary fell between points three and five, with points one and two being ethical and points six and seven being unethical.
courses and cram school
s are limited examples of teaching to the test.
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
al practice where the curriculum is centered primarily around an end assessment or standardized test
Standardized test
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a...
. The practice is designed to give students a set range of knowledge or skills that will allow them to enhance their performance on tests. It is sometimes called drill and kill, from the primary activities: excessive drilling of simple, isolated skills, and killing off understanding.
Teaching to the test is ineffective: it often does not achieve its primary goal of raising student scores. Teachers who engage in it are typically below-average teachers.
Activities
Teaching to the test includes such activities as drilling on test content, downplaying or eliminating teaching on subjects not covered by standardized tests, examining practice or old tests, and in some extreme cases, providing answers to test questions while the test is in progress.It is also frequently used for skill-based learning, like typing or athletics; in this context, teaching to the test is the dominant practice. In situations not involving standardized testing, teaching to the test is used to combine instruction and assessment.
Criticism
Critics of the practice argue that students taught using this method lack a comprehensive understanding of subject matter; even if it raised test scores—which it fails to do—students may not truly grasp the key concepts of the domain. Teaching to the test activities emphasize rote memorization and exclude creative and abstract-thinking skills. Teachers who want to raise test scores must promote deep conceptual understanding of the subject matter.The practice also reduces the validity of standardized tests, and can create an incorrect profile of a student or school's achievement. Teaching to the test may result in teacher disillusionment and unhappiness.
Ethics
Because of its shortcomings, the practice of teaching to the test is unethical. A 1989 study on teaching to the test evaluated the ethical "continuum" of the practice, and identified seven practice points, ranging from most to least ethical:- General instruction on local objectives
- Instruction on general test-taking skills
- Instruction on objectives generally measured by standardized tests
- Instruction on objectives specific to the test used
- Instruction on objectives specific to the test used and using the same format
- Instruction using a released test or a "clone" test that replicates the format and content of the test used
- Instruction using the test to be used, either before or during test administration
The study concluded that the ethical boundary fell between points three and five, with points one and two being ethical and points six and seven being unethical.
In practice
The No Child Left Behind policy in the United States has increased the practice of teaching to the test because of its emphasis on standardized test scores; this is especially true in schools with disadvantaged students, which rely heavily on government funding. Test preparationTest preparation
Test preparation or exam preparation primarily refers to educational courses, tutoring services, and educational materials/learning tools designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests, particularly entrance examinations used for admissions to institutions of higher education,...
courses and cram school
Cram school
Cram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities...
s are limited examples of teaching to the test.